Wildfires are a topic that is demanding our attention these days.
John Daily, emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado, says science can teach us what we need to know.
Dr. Daily is Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan (B.S. 1968, M.S. 1969) and at Stanford University (Ph.D. 1975.) After receiving the Ph.D., he was a faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley until 1988, when he joined the faculty at the University of Colorado. While at Colorado he served as a department chair and as Director of the Center for Combustion and Environmental Research. He also served as the Program Director for Combustion and Fire Systems at the National Science Foundation. He is a Fellow of The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and The Combustion Institute.
Wildfires Need Science
Wildland and wildland/urban fires have become more serious in recent years. What steps can be taken to reduce the risk of such fires? Here is what science tells us.
All fires need fuel, oxygen, and heat. Remove any one of them and no fire.
In wildland fire, the available fuels are trees, bushes, grasses, etc. It is not feasible to remove all the fuels. We need forests for both practical and environmental reasons. However, science can guide us in selectively thinning forests with best effect.
In wildland/urban fires there is a mix of plant-based fuels and building materials that can burn. It is often the burning shrubs and trees that carry the fire forward and ignite buildings. Science tells us that by controlling the plants around our houses and using fire safe building materials we can reduce the effect of fires.
The oxygen provided to a fire comes from air that is 21% oxygen. Without wind, fires burn locally available oxygen and slow down. Wind increases the available oxygen, speeds burning, and causes the fire to move faster. This means that it is important for fire fighters to be able to predict the weather and weather prediction is done by scientists.
Once a fire is burning, knowing what it will do helps firefighters allocate resources like personnel, water, aircraft, etc. Predictions of fire behavior are carried out using computer calculations that are continually being improved upon by scientists.
In short, the entire wildfire story involves the use of scientific knowledge for both prevention and fighting.
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